How long could you live off the food you have in your home? A month? A week? A day? One mom says she could probably go for a whole year without grocery shopping! She keeps a well-stocked pantry, plus a food storage closet in the basement and plenty of frozen meat and vegetables besides. And it's all just to help feed needy families along with her family.

It's amazing what some people do with their space and resources! And after a disaster like Hurricane Sandy, I think we all started wondering how self-sufficient we'd be -- and for how long -- if we were caught in an emergency.

Growing up Mormon, "emergency preparedness" was a big deal. There was a millennialist-kind of movement in the church in those days, and that's partly why. But it's also just part of the Mormon ethic to be self-sufficient that way. My mother still keeps a well-stocked pantry filled with canned and dry goods. I bet she could live a year on her food supply, though she's end up eating a lot of rice and peanut butter.

As for me -- well, I live in a tiny apartment in New York City, so I don't exactly have room for extra food. I still remember the time someone told me I could hide a chest freezer under a coffee table. Ha! First of all, that would clash with the sofa. But secondly, I don't have room for a coffee table that large.

I do have a little basement storage, though. And I've been seriously thinking of slowly collecting canned foods and water just in case -- anything that could survive a flood. All I have to do is first get rid of all the junk that's down there first. Maybe I should have a stoop sale and use the proceeds to fund my food storage!